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Top 10 Craziest Endings in RECENT Boxing History

On Saturday night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Chad Dawson literally tackled his way to a 2nd round TKO victory over light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins. An abrupt ending to a HBO Pay Per View title fight.

After Hopkins jumped on to Dawson as he leaned forward, Dawson threw Hopkins off of his back causing B Hop to hit the canvas elbow first. Hopkins grabbed his left shoulder in pain as the referee repeatedly asked him if he could continue. Hopkins pointed to his shoulder and signaled that he could not fight any longer, at which point referee Pat Russell signaled a halt to the bout in the 2nd round. The crowd booed relentlessly as Chad Dawson climbed the ring post and beat his chest as if he knocked Hopkins out. Dawson then proceeded to yell at Hopkins from across the ring as Hopkins iced his shoulder. To make things even more chaotic, Pat Russell would rule the bout a TKO instead of a a No Contest, infuriating Bernard Hopkins.

This turned out to be the 2nd HBO Pay Per View main event to end in bizarre fashion in the last month. The unorthodox ending to the Hopkins vs Dawson fight got me thinking about the craziest endings in the recent history of boxing. In my humble opinion, here are the 10 craziest endings to a boxing match in recent history:

10. Floyd Mayweather vs Zab Judah: Mayweather and Judah met in Vegas on April 8, 2006 for the rights to the IBF Welterweight Championship. Judah fought well early, winning the majority of the first 6 rounds on all 3 of the judges scorecards. However, Mayweather eventually started timing Judah and dominated the latter part of the fight. Frustrated by Mayweather's dominance, Judah resorted to dirty tactics in the 10th round of the fight, hitting Mayweather in the groin and following up with a shot to the back of the head. Angered by Judah's cheap shots, Roger Mayweather (Floyd Mayweather's trainer) jumped in the ring and went after Judah. A brawl ensued which lasted several moments. Zab Judah's father and cornerman, Yoel Judah, also entered the ring and threw a punch at Roger Mayweather. Roger Mayweather was ejected from the fight and Floyd Mayweather was forced to fight the last 2 rounds without his head trainer in the corner. Mayweather went on to win the fight by unanimous decision. In the aftermath of the fight, Roger Mayweather was fined $200,000 and his license was revoked for 1 year by the Nevada State Ahtletic Commission. Zab and Yoel Judah were also fined and stripped of their licenses for 1 year.

9. Bernard Hopkins vs Chad Dawson: I spoke about this fight in the opening paragraph. Pay attention to 2 things in this video starting at the 7:13 mark: 1) Hopkins was repeatedly asked by referee Pat Russell "Can you continue?" 2) Dawson's tackle of Hopkins wasn't a 'boxing move', which should have made this bout a no contest.

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8. Kostya Tszyu vs Zab Judah: Kostya Tszyu defended his 140 pound belts against undefeated Zab Judah at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on November 3, 2001. What a night it ended up being. The fun starts at the 2:28 mark of this video. In the span of just a few minutes, Judah gets knocked down, gets back up, does the chicken dance, gets counted out by referee Jay Nady, throws his corner stool across the ring in frustration of Nady's call and proceeds to try to choke Nady. The ever entertaining Judah would go on to be fined $75,000 by the Nevada State Athletic Commission and would lose his license for 6 months.

7. Floyd Mayweather vs Victor Ortiz: These 2 fighters met in Las Vegas on September 17, 2011 for the rights to Victor Ortiz's welterweight trinket. No one was shocked that Mayweather won the fight but we were all shocked by how he won the fight. In the 4th round Ortiz raised his head and unleashed a dangerous head butt on Mayweather. Ortiz was penalized a point by 150 year old Joe Cortez while Mayweather stood in a neutral corner. As the 2 came together, Cortez signaled the time keeper to re-start the clock. As he was looking away Mayweather caught the unprepared Ortiz with 2 flush shots, knocking him out. No one expected the great Floyd Mayweather to win a fight by a legal sucker punch knock out.

6. Paul Williams vs Kermit Cintron: On May 8, 2010, 39-1 Paul "The Punisher" Williams faced off against 32-2-1 Kermit Cintron. In round 4 of this memorable bout the 2 combatants got tangled up, causing Paul Williams to fall to the canvas and Kermit Cintron to do a super man dive into press row. Cintron would be unable to continue the bout and Williams would win by technical decision. Ironically, neither fighter would be the same after this fight.

5. Richard Grant vs James Butler: Out of all of the fights on this list, this one disturbed me the most. This fight took place on a small ESPN card in November of 2011. James Butler was a heralded young prospect who fought several times on ESPN. After hearing that he came up short on the scorecards, Butler sucker punched Richard Grant without his gloves on as Grant attempted to walk across the ring and shake hands. This was disgraceful. Butler would later be arrested for the incident and spend 4 months in jail for assault. Several years later he would murder Sam Kellerman, brother of HBO's boxing commentator Max Kellerman, with a hammer. He was sentenced to 29 years in prison for the murder of Kellerman. This guy was a complete head case.

4. Lennox Lewis vs Oliver McCall II: Lewis and McCall squared off in a rematch on February 7, 1997 in Las Vegas. Lewis would avenge his loss to McCall in a bizarre bout. In the 4th and 5th rounds of the fight McCall experienced a nervous breakdwon, crying in between rounds. For nearly 2 rounds he refused to defend himself and throw punches. Lewis would win back his heavyweight title by disqualification.

3. Riddick Bowe vs Andrew Golota: Andrew Golota is another headcase. To say that guy had unrealized potential is an understatement. If Golota had his head on straight he would have been The heavyweight champion of the world when the heavyweight champion of the world meant something. However, Golota wasn't wired with the mental toughness that it took to become a great champion in the tough sport of boxing. This bout took place on December 14, 1996 in Atlantic City, NJ. Golota was looking to avenge his disqualification loss to Bowe a couple months prior. Just like the first fight Golota controlled most of the bout, but just like the first fight Golota continued to punch Riddick Bowe in his baby makers. Golota was once again disqualified from a fight that he was clearly in control of on the scorecards. I'm still baffled by Andrew Golota's life choices. The guy could have had it all.

2. Riddick Bowe vs Andrew Golota I: This one had it all; an entertaining bout between 2 really good heavyweights, controversy and a riot. I still remember watching this fight live like it was yesterday. My Uncle and I sat on the couch in disbelief as a bizarre series of events unfolded. These 2 combatants met for the first time in Madison Square Garden on July 11, 1996 in what would become one of the craziest fights in boxing history. The undefeated Andrew Golota was putting on the performance of his life against Riddick Bowe, everything seemed to be going great for him. For some reason Golota continued to hit Bowe below the belt. At first it seemed to be by accident, but as rounds went on and the punches continued to land below the mason dixon line, it became evident that Golota was malicious in his acts. After repeated low blows the referee finally disqualified Golota in the 7th round. But the fun was just beginning. Immediately after the bout was halted Bowe's entourage stormed the ring and attacked Golota and his camp. An all out riot ensued inside Madison Square Garden between Bowe fans and Golota's Polish fans. Watch the video below to see hell break loose.

1. Evander Holyfield vs Mike Tyson II: This rematch took place at the MGM Grand Garden on June 28,1997. In the first fight 7 months prior, Holyfield, who was a 15-2 underdog, dominated Tyson on his way to a 11th round TKO victory. After being dominated in the first 2 rounds of this fight Mike Tyson looked for a way out. In the 3rd round Tyson shockingly bit Holyfield's ears. After the first bite referee Mills Lane deducted 2 points from Tyson and warned him not to let it happen again. After the second bite Lane decided he had seen enough and disqualified Tyson. Everyone watched in disbelief as Mike Tyson self destructed before our eyes.

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